


We Live Beyond the Stars

by orphan_account



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Unresolved Sexual Tension, dumb and in love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:28:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 9,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23370949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Ten years after Zim fled Earth he crash lands in Dib's backyard.Years of tension come flooding back. To make things worse Zim is being hunted for leading a revolt that caused Tallest Purples death.Will Dib help him save himself and the universe?
Relationships: Dib/Zim (Invader Zim)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 56





	1. Prologue

Dib Membrane sat in his house waiting for the premiere of the newest Mysterious Mysteries season. He was eager to see what new things had been discovered. It was the only time that he let his mind wander away from the thought that Zim was planning Earths destruction.

Dib grinned as the familiar opening began to play. Gaz, who was sitting beside him playing on her game slave, seemed annoyed by it. 

Dib payed no mind to his irritated sister and grinned widely as the host stepped into frame. Just as he was about to announce the mystery for the day, the power went out. 

Dib let out a cry of agony. Dib looked out the window to see if anyone else was affected. From what he could tell all the houses were out, except one. He scrunched his nose and furrowed his brow, "Zim," he murmured angrily.

Gaz scoffed, "C'mon Dib, don't gotta after him this late,"

Dib was already in the middle of putting on his coat, "Sorry Gaz, but justice must be served," he grabbed his briefcase that was leaning against the wall. With that he left.

Dib went up to Zim's obnoxiously bright house and banged on the door. The gnomes seemed to be off so that didn't worry him at all. He waited and no one answered. He banged a couple more times, nothing.  
"Open up Zim!" He yelled. He went to knock again, but before he could do so, the door opened.

Dib peaked inside. The tv was one but no sound was coming from it. Everything looked like strung out and all over the place. Dib hesitantly wandered around. He expected to see minimoose or Gir somewhere, but there was no one. "This is... odd," he mumbled to himself.

He was about to assume no one was there when he heard a loud crash from upstairs, causing him to jump. He heard some hushed scolding from someone. He found where he could get up there. Just as he made it there he saw Zim, in his voot cruiser with minimoose and Gir.

"What are you doing Zim?!" He yelled.

Zim gave Dib a look of something almost like pity. The roof of the house split in two and opened up. The voot cruiser launched into the sky, sending Dib falling backwards. He watched as if disappeared into the starry night sky. 

Dib then watched the house unbuild itself. He got out as quickly as he could. He closed his eyes for a moment as he caught his breath. When he reopened them he saw the house was no longer there. Just an empty gap where it used to be. 

Zim had left before but something in Dib made him believe that maybe this time it was permanent. He stared at the gap for what felt like hours. There was no trace that Zim's house base had ever been there. Something about that made his stomach churn.

He trudged back home. He flung his briefcase down and walked up the stairs to his room. Once in there he slammed the door shut. He could hear Gaz Yelp at him but he didn't listen. 

He eyed all the alien capturing equipment he had. And the big screens he used to track Zim's every move. It was now he had to make a decision. He could a) Stay in his room and rot while waiting for Zim or b) Go on with his life. 

It was a tough choice for the preteen to make but he went with the second option. He tore all his posters down and wrecked anything that had to do with aliens. He ripped all his papers that he spent hours on describing Zim and his actions. He didn't need them anymore. The world didn't need him anymore. 

He looked at his bed and realized how tired he was. He claimed in and passed out.

The next morning he sat at the breakfast table. "Hey dad, can I talk to you," he said his voice somewhat quiet.

Membrane put down the newspaper he was reading and eyed his son, "Of course,"

"I think I'm giving up on Pursuing the paranormal," though most of Membranes face was covered Dib knew his father must be smiling giddily. "I mean, I still believe in it, I just don't think I need to obsess over it anymore. I won't be able to get a job if the only thing my resume says is: Paranormal Investor extraordinaire," 

Membrane clapped his hands together, "Thats great son! You're finally going to do something worthwhile,"

Dib laughed dryly, "Yeah, I guess so,"

Gaz meandered I'm sitting adjacent to Dib, "What's going on in here?" She asked noticing everyone's mood and facial expressions.

"Your brother has finally decided to let go of his silly interest in the paranormal! It's a joyous day,"

Gaz's eyes went wide, "Dib... are you serious. I mean I always thought it was kind of stupid but c'mon man,"

Dib shook his head, "What's the point Gaz? Zim left and for once I don't think he'll be coming back," 

"Zim always comes back. We just have to wait,"

Dib stood up abruptly, "I'm done with waiting Gaz. I don't want to waste my life to Zim. I want to do things!" He slammed his hands on the table, "Why can't you just respect that?" 

Six years later Dib Membrane would graduate high skool with all A's and would be accepted to every school he applied to. A model student he took all honors and AP classes along with duel enrollment. 

He would then go on to go to one of America's finest Ivy League school. He would major in Phycology and minor in Chemistry. He had quite a few friends and was loved by everyone. During this time he almost forgot about his childhood with Zim. The key word, almost. 

Some nights Dib would find himself laying on a bench in the middle of the schools many gardens. He would stare up into space. Wondering if the little green alien was up there somewhere. 

Sometimes he would get sad and drink his problems away. He had enough stress and baggage. His father kept piling it up. Gaz would constantly offer her help but he turned it down.

Now it was the summer between his Junior and Senior year of University. He was laying on top of his old family house's roof. He had just had a heated argument with his dad over a grade. He came up here to relax. Though the humidity made everything hot and sticky. He was about to doze off when he saw something bright dash across the night sky. He raised up and saw what could only be a meteor. But Dib has studied those, and what ever was hurtling towards the Earth was no Meteor....


	2. It Was a Downward Spiral

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zim just nearly escapes the Irken soldiers

Zim was running down the metal halls of the armada. His footsteps echoed down the halls. He turned and looked over his shoulder only to see a couple dozen of Irken soldiers chasing him. He cursed and took a sharp dash to the left in hopes of losing them.

It was no use, they were still hot on his trail. Years ago Zim wanted nothing more to please the tallest and now he was responsible for one of their deaths. And what’s worse is that he is leading a rebellion. After breaking off from the Irken empire Zim discovered a group of old Irken soldiers or invaders. Zim joined and was deemed one of the best.

He just hoped that this wouldn’t be how he died. He still had so much to live for... ok maybe he didn’t but he did not want to die. 

Zim could see the illuminated signs pointing to the loading docks. He smirked and ran towards them. He finally got to the door. He pushed them open and dashed towards his disguised Voot Cruiser. He jumped in and started to rev it up. He gave the Irken soldiers a maniacal grin, “You really thought you could catch Zim?” He laughed as the ship took off. 

Once out of the armada he could see a bunch of smaller ships coming after him. He murmured a curse in Irken. He had added updated blasters to his voot along with a few other things. He tried his hardest to pilot and shoot at the other ships. “Shit, shit, shit,” he spoke as the got closer. 

Zim did have another option. He could travel a billion light years away in the span of a few seconds and he could lose the ships. The only problem was that his voot cruiser wasn’t built for that and could result in it blowing up. 

Zim saw all the other ships appearing behind him. He sighed and activated mega thrusters. The force was so strong that he was flung backwards. He felt dizzy and nauseous. 

The voot came to an abrupt stop. Things flew forward and smashed into the windshield. Zim rose up with a groan. He sat back in the seat.

He pulled up a digitalization of a map. It showed all the charted planets in the universe. Zim was still surprised how more we’re being discovered. He looked to see where he was. He looked at the planets in the sector but his eyes landed on one. It was all to familiar. It was Earth. Zim hadn’t even seen Earth for about ten years give or take. He didn’t keep up with time. 

Zim recalled when all he wanted to do was conquer Earth for the Tallest. How foolish he had been. He sighed and slumped back into his seat. His eyes didn’t leave Earth. He piloted the voot closer to it so that he was hovering over it. Zim didn’t know how to act with the sense of nostalgia. 

Memories of him fighting one Earth boy played out in his head. Dib, the only human who cared enough to try and stop him. How childish they had been. Zim smiled fondly. He hoped that Dib had made a life for himself. Just as Zim was about to turn around the voot stopped working. It began to free fall. He frantically tried to reboot the system but was met with errors. He cursed in Irken. He could feel the change of pressure. It hurt his head. 

Zim managed to get a single look of where he was about to crash land. Right before impact he mumbled one word, “Fuck,” and then he crashed.

When Zim awoke he felt something could beneath him. He opened his eyes and sat up. He was laying on top of wet grass. He cringed at the unpleasant feeling. He stumbled to his feet. He turned to see his voot cruiser which was up in flames. He then noticed a large piece of glass lodged in his arm. The sight of it made him feel queasy. But he effortlessly pulled it out. He pulled a bandage out of his Pak and wrapped his arm up.

He took not of his surroundings. It was night and all the stars were visible. He had landed in a grassy area of a forest. He was in a clearing so no trees were damaged. He couldn’t see any lights that indicated a town or civilization. So that meant he was either in the middle of nowhere or everyone was asleep. 

Zim didn’t have a disguise with him. If a human found him, he would surely be shipped off to some testing facility like Area 51. Even if he could blend in his outfit was a giveaway that he want from here. He traded out his Invader uniform for something else years ago. It was a magenta colored suit. He still bore his same black boots and gloves, he decided to keep the same color palette.

He needed to make a plan on escape. But it would take a long time to fix his voot. There had to be at least someone who had an idea on how to fix a spaceship. That’s when his mind wandered, Dib. Dib was intelligent enough. He could help him. But would he want to? They weren’t ever anything more than enemies. I’d Dib saw him he’d probably capture him in the spot. Zim could say that he sang trying to take over Earth but would Dib believe him? 

Zim groaned and kicked at the dirt. Earth was a stupid planet, people were always so complicated. Then again that’s what made them human. They had the right of free thinking and they could make their own mistakes. That’s also what infuriated Zim the most he wa a never given that option. He was always told what to do and where to go. But now, he’s one of the leaders of the Irken Rebellion, so look how being told what to do turned out.


	3. We Meet Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dib investigates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short chapter sorry

Dib grabbed a flashlight from off his desk and put on a black coat. He grabbed a pair of black boots and snuck out of the house.

The forest wasn’t too far away and Dib could see the trees behind all the other houses. He walked down the empty sidewalk. It had an eerie calmness to it.

He came across a large barb wired fence. A metal sign on it read: No trespassing. But it had been defaced with graffiti.

Dib disobeyed the sign. He first threw all of his stuff over the fence and then climbed on it. He cut his arm on a piece of wire that was sticking out. He inhaled sharply but kept climbing. 

Once at the top of the fence he looked down below. He gulped, he seemed much higher than he thought. It didn’t help that a thick fog coated the bottom of the ground. Dib could hardly see where the fence ended. He didn’t have time to contemplate what to do, a large gust of wind made him lose his balance. He fell on the soft, wet grass. He heard a crack, but it was only his phone.

Dib sighed and got to his feet. The trees towered over him. He grabbed his things and began walking. 

When Dib was younger he would venture into the woods often. He would search for goblins, ghosts, or ghouls. One time he had sworn he saw a banshee at the top of a tree. He climbed the tree quickly but didn’t notice when he stepped on a bad branch. In a second he was back on the ground. His arm went numb, he looked around but no one came to get him. He had to walk all the way home. He was rushed to the hospital where he was told he had a broken arm. He was given a cast, no one signed it. Well except for Zim. He wrote his name in big bold letters that took over most the cast. That turned out to only be two months before Zim left.

Dib walked through the trees, trying not to step on the multiple frogs. He could see a faint light a little ways away. He picked up his pace and headed towards it. The light turned out to be a fire. 

Dib stood behind a tree and looked at what was on fire. It looked like... a spaceship! His eyes widened as he looked at the sight. He wasn’t expecting to hear a grumbling noise come from the wreckage. Dib looked closer and saw a silhouette. 

“Out of all the places I could’ve crashed it had to be Earth,” Dib heard the... creature speak. The voice, sounded vaguely familiar, “Gross, smelly, pitiful Earth,” the creature paced around the wreckage, “How am I ever supposed to get back?” 

As the creature stepped closer to the fire, Dib could see clearly who it was. It was Zim. He wasn’t wearing his normal uniform, but which was odd. In an utter state of shock Dib dropped his flashlight. It clanged loudly against a rock it landed on. 

Zim turned to face where the noise came from, “Who’s there?!” He yelled 

Dib panicked, what was he supposed to do? Zim had been his enemy for years. But for some reason Dib was glad to see Zim. “I can hear you!” Zim called out into the pitch Black Forest, “Don’t make me go over there and get you!” He yelled trying to sound confident.

Dib stepped into the light with his arms raised high, to show that he didn’t have a weapon. Zim looked somewhat baffled, “Dib-Stink?” 

Dib couldn’t help but smile, Zim remembered him, “Hey space boy,”


	4. Allies In Odd Places

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dib brings Zim to his house.

Zim frowned, “What are you doing here?” He questioned.

“I could ask you the same,” Dib replied smugly 

Zim made an annoyed sound, “You should leave,”

Dib folded his arms, “Why should I? For all I know you could be planning on the Earths domination,”

“Well I’m not,” 

“Why should I believe you?”

“Listen Dib-Stink, you can stay here and try to figure out if I have some evil plan or you could go home and finish your homework or whatever,”

“I don’t have homework, because A) its summer and B) I’m an adult,”

“Impossible, the last time we spoke you were only like thirteen or something,”

“You’ve been gone for ten years, Zim. I’m twenty three,”

“What?” Zim’s expression changed from annoyance to confusion, “Zim has been gone that long?”

Dib sighed, “Yea, Zim,”

“And you never tried to find me?!” 

“You were gone. I thought that maybe you would just never return...guess I was wrong,”

“Well if it helps I never meant to crash here. I was headed for a totally different planet,”

Dib stepped closer. Zim noticed how much taller Dib was, “Why did you crash here?” Dib questioned

“I was fleeing the Irken armada,” he said looking down at the wreckage of his ship.

“Why? I thought they loved you,”

Zim shook his head, “Apparently not. They hate Zim,”

Dib didn’t know how to respond, “I’m sorry to hear that,”

Zim sighed, “It’s fine. I became the leader of a resistance, thats pretty cool I guess,”

“Is it that one organization you talked about once? What was it called? The Resisty?”

Zim shook his head, “That was disbanded,” 

“Oh...”

Zim rolled his eyes, “Are there any other questions you have Dib-filth?” 

“Yes actually,” Zim groaned but Dib continued, “How are going to leave? It seems like your ship I’d completely demolished,”

Zim sighed, “I suppose I’ll just stay here for awhile,”

“Where would you stay?”

He hesitated before responding, “I’m sure I would find someone willing to house Zim. I mean who wouldn’t?”

Dib felt bad for Zim. “Since you aren’t trying to take over the world anymore, I guess you could stay with me,”

Zim beamed and he smiled, “You’d do that for me Dib-stink?”

“Only! If you stop using those nicknames,”

“Ehhhh I’ll try, but no promises,”

Dib sighed, “Good enough,”

Dib started to walk away and Zim followed. Zim couldn’t describe it, but he was happy to see Dib. They weren’t ever “friends” but Dib was the closest thing to one. 

Zim stayed close to Dib’s side. Eventually they made it to Dib’s house. Dib took out a key and unlocked the door. Dib laughed to himself. “Are you laughing at Zim?” Zim asked.

“No! I was just thinking about how this is a lot like one of my favorite movies,”

“What is it called?”

“E.T,”

“Sounds stupid,” Zim mumbled. Dib opened the door and let Zim inside. Dib closed the door quietly. He grabbed Zim by the arm and started walking up the steps. Dib cringed when one of the steps made a loud creaking noise. 

Dib opened the door to his own room. It was much more put together than when he was a child. His Zim monitors had all been taken down and there were no notes about the paranormal anywhere. He had a cork board full of scientific ideas. There were school papers on his desk and he had a binder labeled: School Shit. 

Dib went to his closet and opened it. He grabbed some of his clothes and threw them out. He grabbed a pillow and a blanket and put it inside, “There, you can stay in here,”

“Zim does not want to be with your nasty clothes,” 

Dib shrugged, “Well then I guess you can leave,”

It seemed like Zim actually considered this option. He sighed and stepped into the closet, “Know that if i had any other options, I would gladly choose them over this,”

“I bet you would,” Dib smirked, “Well I’m going to try and sleep. Do not leave my room,” he said sternly.

“Whatever Dib-Human,” 

—————————————————————————————————————————  
The next morning Dib forgot he was harboring Zim. He casually got out of bed and went downstairs. He sat at the breakfast table beside Gaz. 

“Did you leave the house last night?” She asked while eating cereal.

That’s when Dib remembered what happened last night. Leaving the house, seeing Zim, leaving Zim in his room! Dib stood up quickly, “I uh, have some things to attend to,” He said nervously before running back upstairs. 

He opened the closet door and saw Zim reading some of Dib’s old comic books, “What’s up with Earth’s fascination with super heroes?” He asked while flipping through an issue of Spider-Man, “I don’t get it? None of these characters are real but people seem to fawn over them. They make art and write fan fiction, whatever that is...”

Dib was relieved to see that Zim hadn’t left, “I think it’s because it makes them happy. Our world... It sucks,” Zim chuckled, “So sometimes it’s nice to escape. Even if its a world similar to our own,”

“Why don’t you actually escape? Humans have technology to go explore space, why don’t they?”

Dib shrugged, “Some people are just scared,” Dib expected Zim to make fun of humans, but he didn’t he just nodded.

“Humans have free will, they have the chance to learn from their mistakes. I wish more Irkens had that ability,”

Dib raised an eyebrow, “Are you having an existential crisis or something?”

Zim stood up, “Zim never has any crises!”

Dib put his hands up, “Ok, Ok. I was just asking,”

Zim scowled, “You humans are also very dumb,” he grinned maliciously.

“And you,” Dib pointed at Zim, “Are still an asshole,” 

Zim frowned and muttered something under his breath. The two boys didn’t notice when the door to Dib’s room slowly opened. “Hey Dib, I heard you talking to someone and I wanted to make sure you didn’t have a girl...” She trailed off when she saw Zim, “What. The. Fuck?!”


	5. Can’t Phone Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaz freaks out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second half of the chapter is shit so bare with me, also can you spot the reference to a musical?

Dib flinched as Gaz yelled, “What is he doing here?!”

Zim crossed his arms, “No need to be rude Dib sister,”

“You know what my name is Zim,” she scowled, “Dib can I talk to you, alone?” She said glaring at Zim.

Dib nodded, “Yea, sure,” They went into their shared bathroom. 

Gaz didn’t say anything for the first few moments, she then sighed, “¿¡Dib Membrane en que mierda estabas pensando?!”

Simple translation: Dib Membrane what the fuck were you thinking

Dib rolled his eyes, “¡No tenía dónde ir!”

Translation: He has nowhere else to go!

Gaz groaned, “Eres un idiota,” 

Translation: You are such an idiot

“I, can we talk in English I’m too tired to switch into Spanish?”

Gaz sighed, “Yea, whatever,”

Dib nodded, “Look I understand that this wasn’t the best option, but he had nowhere else to go! And he’s no longer trying to conquer Earth!”

“Why are you believing him?! It’s Zim, he’s full of tricks or whatever,”

“Because...”

“Because why Dib?”

“I don’t know?! I just like having him around! Remember when you and Tak were good friends for awhile? It’s like that,”

Gaz seemed to blush at the mention of Tak, “We weren’t friends, we just bonded over our mutual hatred of you,”

“Sounds like friends to me,”

“How would you even know what friends are? You didn’t have any until Junior Year when you ran fro Class President,”

Dib frowned, “Just let him stay for awhile Gaz. Like I’ve said, he doesn’t have anywhere else to go,”

“Why doesn’t he go back to Irk?” She asked skeptically.

“They kicked him out,”

Gaz’s eyes widened, “Oh?”

Dib nodded, “Yeah, apparently Zim is leading some rebellion against the Tallest,”

Gaz snorted, “Zim? I don’t think he has enough sense to lead anything,”

Dib felt himself get defensive, “Well he is! Apparently all his teammates look up to him. So, I think it would be a good idea for us to return Zim to the rebellion,”

“Yea? And what would I get out of it?” Gaz asked

“I could bring Tak back,” Dib joked.

“You know what never mind. I’ll help you, only because I want you out of the house,”

Dib smiled, “Thanks Gaz,”

“Don’t mention it. Seriously though, don’t go around telling people I helped you,”

“Alright Gaz,”

“Are you guys gonna come out anytime soon?!” Zim yelled from the other room.

Dib pushed open the door. He saw Zim standing in the middle of the room looking more than annoyed, “While you two were doing your familial bickering, I was thinking of the materials I need. All of them should be easily accessible,” he paused, “But some are more difficult to find,”

“As in?” Dib asked.

Zim sighed, “There’s this one really rare chemical that was outlawed years ago. But, there are a few places that are allowed to have it. One of these places is membrane labs,”

“So you’re saying we need to break in and steal this chemical. Which would in turn probably get us arrested?” Gaz inquired.

“Yes, I know it sounds difficult but it really isn’t,”

“I don’t know Zim. I’d love to help you but this seems a little outlandish,” Dib said nervously 

“It won’t be hard because your male parental unit stores the chemical here,”

“Why would Dad do that? If this is some important chemical why would he keep it here? I feel like this is a trap Zim,” Dib said eyeing him suspiciously

“It’s not!” Zim yelled. He sighed and calmed down, “Zim doesn’t need your help. But everything would go a lot easier if you helped,”

Dib looked at his younger sister, “Should we?”

She shrugged, “We have nothing better to do,”

—————————————————————————————————————————

They waited until Membrane was asleep. Zim kept reassuring the two siblings, “It’ll be fine,” He would say. Dib and Gaz would exchange doubtful looks but would remain silent.

Apparently Membrane had a secret lab in the basement. Secret in the sense that only his family knew about it. Dib and Gaz never thought much if it. Dib managed to use his hand print to get in. Unlike most hand print sensors this one actually looked at the genetic makeup. And luckily Dib was a clone of Membrane so their genetic makeup was so similar the sensor was easily fooled.

“I still think this is a bad idea,” Dib murmured, “Why do you need this anyways?”

Zim gave him a look as if to say, ‘Isn’t it obvious’. Zim sighed, “It’s like this special glue. It’s used on almost everything in space. But for some reason your pitiful planet decided that it was dangerous,”

“Is it dangerous,”

Zim paused, “I mean it can melt your face off if not used properly. But do not worry, Zim knows how to use it!”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Dib mumbled. ‘

The room was all white tile. There were a few discarded inventions thrown around the room. There were a bunch of files stacked up on a gray metal desk. In the far corner of the room was a group of test tubes. There was a blue substance inside each of them.

“That’s it,” Zim beamed. He ran towards it. 

“I still think this is a bad idea,” Dib spoke as he followed behind Zim.

“Shut up Dib-Stink and help Zim carry these,”

Dib rolled his eyes and grabbed a few of them, “Why does this look like the type of blue shit they use in movies?”

“First of, It’s not shit. Also this stuff has never been in any movies so I doubt you’ve ever seen this in real life,”

Dib didn’t respond. The two boys met back up with Gaz who was keeping watch, “Took you long enough,” They all went to Dib’s room.

“So you got your shit, now is their anything else you need,”

Zim shook his head, “I have already gathered all the other materials. Now we just need to actually put my ship back together,”

“Should that take long?”

Zim grinned, “Not with my skill? It’ll take maybe five to seven Earth days,”

Gaz turned to her brother, “We’re going to have to keep Zim hidden for nearly a week,”

Dib sighed, “It can’t get much worse than this,”


	6. Can’t Catch My Breath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dib and Gaz help Zim despite concerns.

Dib flopped on his bed. Zim had been at his house for a little over than 24 hours and he was already tired of him. Zim was very demanding to say the least. He treated Gaz and Dib like his own personal slaves. 

Dib would wake up in the middle of the night and see Zim just standing... watching him sleep. Dib tried his best to avoid him when he could. Gaz didn’t seem to mind Zim being there, as long as he didn’t speak to her.

Dib turned off the small light on his nightstand, leaving him enveloped in darkness. He looked up at the ceiling. He could faintly make out the outline of faded glow in the dark stars. He had begged his father for them when he was younger. And after a long time of asking Membrane complied. Dib had been so excited. When his father took a break and left, Dib clumped onto the ladder. He lost his balance and was sent tumbling backwards. He had yelped out in pain and recoiled in on himself.

Gaz entered the room moments later. She pointed and laughed. Dib frowned and turned away from her. His father ran up the stairs. He had scooped Dib up to examine his injures, which turned out to just be a couple bruises. Dib would’ve said it was worth it since he got to see the stars on his ceiling the following night.

Now in the present, Dib sighed and rolled back over on his side. Why couldn’t his life be normal? Sometimes he envied those who didn’t know Zim was an alien. They probably had nice and placid lives. Meanwhile Dib’s was filled with stress and paranoia all through childhood. 

After what felt like hours Dib finally managed to fall asleep. He dreamed of a battle he had with Zim years ago. Zim had constructed another faulty invention. He was very proud about this one. He walked into school in his normal manner. Dib glared at him, Zim stuck his tongue out.

Immediately after school Dib ran after Zim. Zim turned around, a malicious smile plastered on his face, “What do you want smelly?” He asked.

Dib frowned, “What are you planning Zim?”

Zim crossed his arms, “Why should I tell a pathetic human like yourself?”

“Because no matter what it is, it will fail,” Dib said confidently

Zim stepped closer to him, standing on the tip of his toes trying to gain some more height, “What makes you so sure?”

Dib looked down at the small alien, “I’ll stop you, like every other time,”

Zim shook his head. He turned around and landed back on the soles of his feet, “No you won’t,” he said simply.

The rest of the dream was fuzzy. There was a point where Zim’s invention backfired and hurt him severely. Dib had to save Zim. It was odd because Dib felt genuinely concerned for Zim’s life. 

Dib woke up from this dream. When he opened his eyes he realized he was face to face with Zim. He yelled and recoiled back. Zim rolled his eyes, “Get up Dib-stink, we’ve got work to do,”

Dib pulled a pillow on top of his head, “I don’t want to do your work,” he mumbled.

Zim grabbed the pillow and flung it across the room, “Too bad! Now get dressed!” Zim commanded.

Dib scowled and got up. He stretched. He was getting ready to changed when he noticed Zim was still in his room, staring at him, “Uh Zim?”

“What?”

“Are you going to leave?...”

Zim wanted to argue to start a fight, but he didn’t. “Be down in five Earth minuets!” He instructed before heading out.

Dib sighed. He grabbed a The Shinning T-Shirt along with some white washed blue jeans. He grabbed a red flannel and put it on. He grabbed a bag and filled it with other stuff. A journal, a phone charger, earbuds, and his trench coat. He walked downstairs. He was for once lucky his father was out working, he did not want to explain the Zim situation.

Gaz was sat at the couch wearing an Overwatch T-shirt underneath a black hoodie and black Nike leggings. She was playing on the latest model of the game slave. Zim was ranting about something but she wasn’t paying any attention to him.

Zim stopped when he was Dib, “Ah! Smelly is here! We can finally leave,”

Zim had changed into a disguise. It was the exact same one from when they were kids. Dib was still unable to understand how no one else was able to see that Zim was obviously an alien. 

Gaz groaned and shoved her Game Slave in a bag beside her. She looked between Dib and Zim, “I’m driving,” she said in a authorizing voice. She grabbed the car keys and unlocked the door. Dib went to open the passenger door but Gaz stopped him ,”I don’t want you beside me,” she said, “Sit in the back with Zim,”

Dib looked in the backseat where Zim sat looking annoyed, “Don’t make me,” he pleaded with his sister.

She gave him the death stare, indicating there was no reason with bargaining. Dib sighed and opened the left backseat door. He sat down as far away from Zim as possible. “I’m older, I should be able to drive,” he muttered.

Gaz glared at him before pulling out of the driveway. They rode in silence for most of the trip. Only speaking once because Zim felt a need to insult Dib for no reason. Gaz pulled into a gravel parking lot used mainly for hikers. She jumped out of the car, nearly locking Zim and Dib inside. 

Zim grabbed the equipment and hurried after the two Membrane siblings. “Do you even know which way it is?” Inquired Gaz. They had been walking around for the past forty-five minuets and had yet to find Zim’s ship.

Zim frowned, “I’m sure it was here,”

They wandered around for another half hour before Dib suggested, “Maybe it was somewhere else,” 

“No!” Zim yelled, frustrated, “It was here I know it was!”

They walked in silence once again.

That’s when they saw a small clearing and in it was Zim’s ship. He grinned and ran towards it. He stopped in his tracks half way to it. As Dib and Gaz approached it they saw what had stopped Zim. There was a group of hikers examining the ship in awe.

There were two girls and one boy. The boy had bright ginger hair and was the most interested in the ship. 

Dib recognized the ginger boyand impulsively yelled his name, “Keef?!”


	7. Boy, You’re an Alien

Keef turned to Dib and smiled, “Dib Membrane! Long time no see,” Zim noticed that it seemed that Keef’s eyes were back to normal. Keef turned over to face Zim, “Hey Zim, I haven’t seen you since Seventh Grade,”

“Hey...” Zim said giving a hesitant wave.

Keef approached them, “I’m assuming this spaceship is yours considering you’re an alien,” he gestured to the ship.

Dib’s eyes widened, “You knew?!” 

“It was kind of obvious,” Zim scoffed, “I just didn’t realize it until after he stole my eyes,”

“Sorry about that,” Zim added.

Keef smiled reassuring, “It’s fine! I was kind of being a creep. I just didn’t have any other friends at the time,” Keef chuckled, “But now I have some great friends, so I think I’m good,”

Dib nodded, he looked back over at his sister. Gaz was talking to one of Keef’s friends about video games.

“So Zim, what are you doing back here?” Keef asked.

“Oh my God can this kid just leave? We need to fix Zim’s voot as quickly as possible” Dib thought to himself. 

“Sorry Keef, that’s classified,”

Keef didn’t pry, “Hey that’s ok,”

Zim nodded, “Yea, so we should start fixing my voot...” Zim was subtly trying to get rid of Keef.

“Oh! Right,” Keef smiled and motioned to his friends, “Don’t worry I’ll make an excuse to my friends so I can hide your alien identity,” 

“Thanks Keef,” Dib and Zim said in unison.

Keef and his friends left. Gaz walked back over to Dib and Zim, “His friend tried to act like he knew about video games. He was lying and I called him out. Then he had the audacity to ask for my number. I hate men,” 

Dib sighed, “lets just help Zim,” 

Dib poured out all the equipment the three of them had gathered. Zim grabbed a few of the things and made his own pile. He looked solemnly down at his voot, “It looks worse than it is,” He spoke.

Dib walked over to Zim, “I’m not so sure about that, Zim,”

Zim turned and glared at Dib, “You know nothing of Irken technology,”

“I worked on Tak’s ship you know,”

“And you didn’t let Zim use it?!” He yelled.

Dib put his hands up, “Tak came back in eighth grade and stayed until Junior year. She took her ship with her,”

Zim mumbled something about how much he disliked Tak. “Anyways I hope you humans have the patience for this. It’ll take some time,”

Gaz narrowed her eyes and looked at the boys, “How much time?”

“I told you, three to four Earth days,”

“I didn’t listen cause I don’t like you,” Gaz said plainly.

Zim gaped for a moment before turning back to focus on his voot.

Dib sighed, “Let’s get to work,” 

—————————————————————————————————————————

They worked for five hours in the blazing heat. Zim didn’t seem to mind but Dib was sweating profusely. Zim would grab random shit out of his pak. Dib was compelled to ask him what all the things were, but he contained himself. 

They worked in silence for three of the five hours. Dib became agitated after awhile. So, he pulled out his phone and played music.

Zim was annoyed at first but he didn’t complain that much, he was too involved with what he was doing.

Gaz stood up, “I’m going to get some pizza and bring it back,”

Dib stood up behind her, “You can’t just leave us!”

“Yes I can, and I’m going to,” She picked up the keys and walked off.

Dib grumbled something that went unnoticed by Zim. Dib hated being alone with him. Even if Zim wasn’t trying to choreograph the Earth’s demise anymore, Dib still saw Zim as an enemy. And Zim would stay as nothing but an enemy. 

Dib at some point tuned out the music that was playing. He didn’t realize when the song E.T by Katy Perry started playing. The lyrics wafted through the air, “Could be the devil? Could you be an angel?” Something about the lyrics caught Zim’s attention.

His antennas perked and turned towards where the music was playing, “Your touch, magnetizing. Feels like I’m floating, leaves my body glowing. They say be afraid. You’re not like the others. Futuristic lover,”

Zim turned his whole body to face Dib, who was zoned out, “Different DNA, they don’t understand you. You’re from a whole ‘nother world. A different Dimension. You open my eyes and I’m ready to go lead me into the light. Kiss me, Ki-Ki-Kiss me,” Zim’s face flushed. Dib still hadn’t realized what song was playing, “Wanna be your victim ready for abduction. Boy, You’re an alien. Your touch so foreign,”

Dib snapped out and made eye contact with Zim. Dib’s face blushed hard as he fumbled for the phone. He skipped through the song, only for Aliens Exist by Blink-182 to play instead. He grumbled and finally found a song that had nothing to do with aliens. He sighed and placed his phone on the ground. He should be more careful about what he puts on his playlist.

“That was... odd,” Zim spoke.

Dib laughed nervously, “yep, sometimes songs just pop up out of nowhere,”

“Zim saw that song was on your playlist. I don’t think it came out of nowhere,”

Dib bit his lower lip, “It’s just a song, it doesn’t mean anything,”

Zim smirked, “Yea right. You just so happened to have a song about a woman wanting to fuck an alien. Don’t worry I bet it totally doesn’t mean anything,”

Dib rolled his eyes, “You’re so childish,”

“By human terms I was never a ‘child’. The closest thing I was, was a smeet,”

“That doesn’t stop you from acting like a pubescent boy with nothing on their mind but sex,”

Zim frowned, “Take that back,”

“It’s the truth Zim, I’m sorry I had to be the one to tell you,”

“Zim doesn’t think about sex! Sex is meaningless other than human reproduction. I don’t understand why your kind takes pleasure in it!”

Dib fell on his back and laughed as Zim continued to rant. Something about talking to him was enjoyable.


	8. No Chance, No Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a lot of yelling

Once the sun started to set the three decided to make their way back home. Dib sat in the back seat with Zim again. This time they were on much friendlier terms. Gas noticed how the two boys were talking and not just insulting each other.

"What was space like?" asked Dib

Zim shrugged, "It was vast. It just like a gaping hole of nothingness half the time. And occasionally you would pass something beautiful, but everything just looks the same,"

Dib slumped back in his seat, "Bummer,"

They arrived at the house and snuck Zim in. Membrane was sitting at the breakfast table, he was constructing some mini device. He didn't notice when his children entered. They made it up the stairs when they went their separate ways. Gaz went to her room, and Dib along with Zim went to Dib's room. Dib locked the door behind him. 

"Do I have to reside in your smelly closet again?" asked Zim

"Where else would you reside?" Dib questioned, it was a rhetorical question, "Irkens don't even sleep,"

Zim rolled his eyes, "Doesn't mean I don't want to be comfortable,"

"Fine, You can stay somewhere else. Just don't bother me or wake me up," Dib didn't bother to change in his pajamas. He just crawled underneath his covers. He could hear Zim shifting around the room. Dib really hoped that Zim wouldn't mess with any of his college related stuff. After awhile it got quiet. Which was somewhat unnerving, but Dib was too tired to care.

Dib awoke to a loud crash and bang. He shot right up and eyed around the room. In the corner was Zim, with a broken computer. Dib's broken computer. Dib was enraged. That had all his school work on it. Millions of essays. And even things that he would need to go to Medical School. He flung himself out of bed and stomped over to Zim.

"Dib-Filth, I didn't mean for anything to happen. This is all a big misunderstanding!" Zim pleaded.

"What the fuck Zim?! I ask you to do one thing. and somehow you mess it up!"

Zim stood up, "Zim didn't do anything!"

Dib crossed his arms, "Then please explain how my very valuable computer is broken,"

Zim hesitated, "It fell..."

"Off what?"

Zim shrugged, "I don't know, your human furnishings are disruptive,"

Dib sighed and rubbed his temples, "You know what? I don't even want to know,"

"Dib!" Gaz loudly knocked on the door, "Dad says that he wants to talk with you!"

Dib groaned and turned back to Zim, "Do not move," He said sternly. Dib made his way down the stairs and turned the corner to see the breakfast table.

Gaz was sitting on the couch and playing some online multiplayer game, "You wanted to see me Dad?" He asked somewhat hesitantly while sitting down on a wooden chair.

Membrane nodded, "Yes!" He said enthusiastically, "I was talking to my lawyer yesterday and I filled out my will, among other things,"

Dib nodded, despite having no idea where this conversation was going, "And I want to leave Membrane Labs, to you," The room fell silent. No one said anything. The sentence just hung uncomfortably in the air.

Gaz who was paying no attention nearly snapped her neck as she swiftly turned to face the two males.

"Dad! W-wha? Why?!" he stood up nearly knocking down the chair as he did it. He was beyond baffled. Why him? His father had always critiqued him for not being scientific and then he goes and pulls this? He just didn't understand why he would do this. 

"You deserve it," He said simply, "And I have faith in you. You are my clone after all, it'll be like I never left,"

That statement made Dib furious, he was more than just his father. He wished his genetic makeup was something entirely different from his father's, "I am nothing like you! I want to be my own person and-"

Gaz cut him off, "I've done everything you've wanted me to do for Twenty-one fucking years! I did what you wanted with no question at all! I defended you when Dib pointed out obvious problems about you!" he threw down her controller and began walking over to them, "And now you are just looking over that! And giving the lab to Dib! I mean, he didn't even want to do science for years! And I have genuinely been interested in it before! And Dib... he would suck at running it!" she looked at Dib, "No offense though,"

Dib shrugged, "I'm used to it. But Dad," He looked back over at his father, "She's right. I'm not meant to continue your legacy. If anyone is... It's Gaz. She's been at your side all this time. She deserves some recognition for it,"

Membrane looked at his children and sighed, "I was afraid this might happen. But my design is final. It's going to Dib,"

Dib tried to think of a way to make his father rethink his decision, he decided to list of all the things that made his father disappointed, "I still believe in the paranormal," he blurted, "Aliens! They're real! In fact I have one in my room. Do you recall Zim? Yep, he's up there!" 

Membrane tilted his head, "I know you are lying so your sister can inherit the lab. But my choice is final,"

Dib was speechless. Luckily Gaz still had a bunch to say, "What the Hell dad?! Is this some sort of sick joke?!" She paused, "Oh wait, joking is very scientific. Just you know what, fuck you dad,"

"Gazline-"

"No! I wasn't obsessed about what you thought of me, but I still wanted to please you. And it was all for nothing. Because it seems you never cared about us. We were just another one of your experiments," She laughed dryly, "I finally understand why Dib hated you so much growing up. You were never a real dad. You don't have any parental instinct, and it's obvious now. You just care about your lab,"

Everyone was quiet for a moment, "Damn Gaz," Dib murmured. 

She looked at her brother directly, "Dib, pack your bags. We're leaving, and grab Zim," She ordered.

"Gaz..."

"Now!" She yelled.

Dib nodded and rushed upstairs. He burst through the door. He grabbed his backpack and threw it on the bed. He could hear Gas yelling at Membrane downstairs.

"What is.. that?" Zim asked regarding the yelling.

"We're leaving," He said plainly. He searched through his closet and packed random stuff.

Zim looked at him confused, "Where are we going to go?"

Dib angrily zipped up his bag, "Jesus Christ Zim�! I don't know!" He whipped and turned towards him.

Zim tilted his head, "What about Zim's voot?"

That's when Dib got a brilliant idea, "Zim.. how many people can fit in your ship?"

Zim contemplated for a moment, "Maybe up to five. My additions made it quiet spacious,"

"If Gaz and I help you finish the repairs maybe we could go with you,"

"You mean?"

"Yep, you're going to take us to space,"


	9. Bad Idea

Zim just stood there. He had to replay what his human nemesis had just said.  
“Dib-filth, you aren’t thinking straight,”

Dib shook his head, “No, this is a great idea! I just have to get Gaz!” He reached for the doorknob but Zim stopped him.

“Smelly, this is a bad idea,” he spoke seriously, “You could get hurt, or even killed. And Zim doesn’t want to deal with that,” 

“I fought you for nearly half a decade. I think I can take what ever evil forces there are,”

Zim was seemingly frustrated, “No Dib! Space is much too complicated for your feeble human body. If you were to even try and fight loyalist Irkens you would surely be killed,”

Dib seemed to consider it, “Zim I-,” 

Gaz busted in unannounced, “Let’s go Dib!” She yelled. She could sense the tension between the two boys, “What’s wrong?” She asked even though she seemed uninterested.

“You’re idiotic brother wants Zim to take you to space,” Zim spoke up.

Gaz looked over at Dib, “That’s... actually a good idea. I need to catch up with Tak anyways,”

Zim pouted, “No! You don’t understand! You can’t! both of you will be killed right away! Just like Skoodge and Gir!” He stopped himself and sighed, “Zim says no, and that’s final,” he said looking down.

Dib stepped closer to him, “Zim,” he paused when he saw tears appear in the small Irken’s eyes, “What happened?”

“I was supposed to fight along side them. But, Zim failed. Zim failed again. I failed the tallest and then I failed my friends. I cannot fail you two as well,” all the words just hung in the air, “I wish I could help you, but this is not a fight you humans can win,”

“But Zim, we can help. We can be your allies in this war. We can help, but only if you let us,” Dib said persistent as ever.

“Dib, this is obviously something that Zim doesn’t want us to do,” Gaz began and turned back to face Zim, “Sorry, Zim. Dib can be a reall asshat,” She hit the back of Dib’s head.

“Ow!”

“You don’t have to take us, but we will be willing to go with you,”

Zim nodded, “I will certainly think of that, Dib sister,”

“My name is Gaz, and I know that you know that,” she said half jokingly and half seriously.

Zim just nodded. He somehow managed to inhale without having any nostrils, “Zim will take you. Dib has always wanted to destroy the tallest anyways. Isn’t that why you always fought Zim?” He asked.

Dib shrugged, “Well yeah, but it was also fun. You were also kind of the closest thing to a friend..”

Gaz looked at him skeptically as if she knew something that Dib was hiding. 

Zim looked at the pair of siblings, “Only rule. Do not die. It’ll make things boring and I don’t snag to deal with the paperwork,”

Dib looked at him confused, “Paperwork?”

“What do you think happens when people die? You have to file out a bunch of this stuff about how they died and well who killed them and etc,” he gestured with his hands.

Dib modding despite not following what Zim was saying. 

“Ok great, we worked that out. Now I think we should leave before dad finds a way to persuade us to stay,” Gaz said folding her arms.

Dib nodded in agreement, “She’s right. I’ll take a tent and we can camp out near your ship,”

“It’s called a Voot Dib-filth, and you know that,” Zim counteracted 

“You’ve called me Dib before,”

“Eh?”

“You usually call me Dib-stink or something like that. But I’ve heard you just call me Dib before,”

Zim shook his head, “Nope, not possible. You aren’t worth it,”

Dib chuckled, “I’m not worth being called my own name?”

“That’s correct,”

“I.. I don’t think I will ever understand you, Zim,”

“You’re not supposed to understand Zim you human scum,”

Gaz groaned, “Will you guys stop bickering and admit your love to each other already?!”

Dib turned bright pink, “Gaz!”

She threw her hands up, “Well the tension is there! Just admit it,”

“He’s my enemy I would never like him,”

Zim spoke up, “I dong even like your smelly brother. He’s annoying and an idiot,”

Gaz smirked, “Suure, when you guys get married don’t say I didn’t tell you so,”

Dib rolled his eyes, “C’mon let’s go,”

The three of them snuck pass membrane who was pacing in the kitchen and piled into Dib’s car. Gaz sat in front beside Zim. She drove around for awhile. They went to stores to buy things that they needed. Extra clothes, food, etc. They forced Zim into his disguise and walked into a Costco like store. Dib jokingly started to push Zim around in a buggie before he started to loudly cuss at him. Zim was very confused about some of the “woman things” that Gaz needed. He didn’t let up about asking about tampons and birth control. Dib has to drag him away before Gaz pinched Zim.

The boys were walking down an aisle when Zim stopped and asked, “What was your sister talking about back at your house base?” 

“What? Oh! She was just trying to get on my nerves,” he laughed nervously.

“But what is... marrying?” He inquired 

“It’s just this thing that people do when they really like each other. Well the correct word would be love technically. Basically they swear to each other that they will love and cherish the other and well it doesn’t matter. I don’t think you are even capable of love,” Dib realized how harsh he sounded after he said it, “I didn’t mean that in a bad way. I just, from what I know, don’t think Irkens can love. Correct me if I’m wrong,”

Zim was quiet, “You are correct. It is programmed out of our Paks to love. It is unnecessary anyways,”

“I wouldn’t say that. Love, it might be complicated and hard but when you find it... it’s almost a magical experience,”

“Have you ever been in love?”

Dib nodded, “Yea, there was this one... person. And this person was the only one I could open up to and talk to. Even if it was in somewhat childish banter,” he laughed remembering the times he had with this person, “But after awhile I kind of fell out of love with this person,”

Zim tilted his head, “Why’s that?”

Dib shrugged, “We just started hanging out less. We didn’t talk as much as we used to. But who knows maybe I’ll fall back in love with them,”

“Is it Keef?” Zim inquired.

Dib nearly doubled back at that inquiry, “What? No! I never even talk to Keef,”

Zim shrugged, “I was just wondering,”

“Trust me you will never guess who I loved,”


End file.
